The Forgotten Gift
by TheManyFacesofJester
Summary: A crash with a tree changes Jane's world. This crash took a small event out of her past, but this lead to many events, altering everything! Now Jane will have to figure out how to change things back, or will she decided that change is good? REVEIW! RR!
1. Chapter 1

**Authors Note: Greetings all! Well, I was looking on some of the communities when an idea someone wrote reminded me of this Blue Fuzz I had a while back. (For info on what Blue Fuzzing is, visit my profile) I never got around to writing it, but CreCre was talking about an idea she had that reminded me of this. But I swear, it has nothig to very little resembleance to the story that CreCre absolutly HAS to write! (Here that CreCre! You MUST write it!) It was a bit fast written so I assume it is not my best work, but I think the story will be cute. It will be a chapter one, but only a few chapters. Nothing major. Okay, now time to stop babbling so you can read!**

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Jane got out of bed. Same as she did everyday. She put on her clothes, and walked outside to greet Dragon and Jester, same as always. Then she was off to early Knight Practice where Gunther made a rude remark about her hair, just like yesterday, and beyond. Sir Theodore made a comment about her form, or something of that nature, and Sir Ivon would sneak in hints of his "Heroic" past all the while.

'Nothing ever changes!' Jane thought as she continually hit the practice dummy with a wooden sword. 'Nothing interesting ever happens! Not that I would like a war, but maybe just a small attack, or a band of robbers. Just something to shake this dull world up!' She gave a hard swing of her sword into the dummy sending it to a wood chip death. Like it always did. For the millionth time she sighed and picked the wooden "person" off the ground and set it straight.

Jane had not always believed life to be boring. Actually this feeling was quite recent. But since she had noticed it she began to worry that her life was like a sad game of chess. Everyone moving there pieces as far away from any form of contact as possible. Making the game INCREDIBLY dull! Such as her life at the present. And what she feared it would be like forever.

She eventually put away her wooded sword and went to take her early morning walk through the woods, a normal thing for her to do. She hoped something interesting would happen. And that this something would make her life infinitely better. Make her friends less ordinary, less plain. Make her parents less snobby. Make her Knights training less dull! And this thought made her keep going further and further into the woods. The further she walked the thicker the trees became, until even the sun turned back, leaving Jane to walk in the dark. Jane, being the confident girl she is, had no fear of anything bad happening to her. Unfortunatly she was so lost in thought that she didn't look where she was going and

"THUNK" Jane fell to the ground as she crashed into the branch of a tree. She tried to stay awake, but her eyes betrayed her, and shut without a thought.

Jane opened her eyes and looked around, remembering what had happened. She stood up directly to check and see that nobody had robbed her while she was unconscious, then check her head to see it was not cracked. She looked at the tree she had crashed into a moment. It was an odd tree, not one she had seen before. 'I shall have to tell Rake about this tree!' She thought to herself right before her stomach growled. 'Definitely time for breakfast!'

Jane started towards The Castle at a quick pace, but stopped whe she arrived outside the walls. She knew she was gone for only a half-hour, but it looked slightly different. She shrugged it off thinking it was just her imagination. But as Jane entered the castle she could not help but notice that some things were different. More vines covered the walls. In fact there were some walls she did not even remember being there!

'Maybe I am hallucinating…' She wondered as she walked closer to the kitchen. 'Do I have a concussion?' She continued her thought as she entered the kitchen. At least Pepper was the same.

"Morning Pepper!" Jane said as cheerily as she could manage. Pepper turned to her looking rather surprised.

"What are you doing here Jane? I thought you were going to help your mother this morning?" Jane laughed adding a snort

"My Mother? Why would I be helping her this morning? I hardly ever help her!" Jane looked at Pepper oddly. But Pepper still looked shocked.

"Jane? What are you wearing!"

"Wearing?" Jane checked her body, but nothing seemed different. "What do you mean? I always wear this... Are you feeling okay?"

"Always? Well that is a bit of an overstatement do you not think? You had better change before some one else sees' you like that! Ladies-In-Waiting do not wear pants!" Now things were really getting really weird.

"Pepper, who cares if someone sees' me wearing this? Everybody knows I wear this! And what do you mean Lady-In…" She was going to argue her some more, but Rake happened to walk into the Kitchens at that moment.

"Good Morning Pepper! Good Morning Jane…What are you wearing?" Now Jane was shocked.

"What… I… Is this some kind of joke?" Jane wanted to scream at them 'What is wrong with you people!' but wanted to figure out if they were in earnest or not first. The Cook sighed and turned back to a pot of tea that was now screaming. Rake starred at Jane oddly for a moment before turning away. That surprised her a bit, but what made her jaw drop to the floor was when Rake put his arms around Pepper and kissed her cheek. He was obviously whispering something in her ear.

"Umm, Pepper?" But Pepper just giggled. 'When did they get together? What happened? How long have I been gone?' Her eyes were wide by the time Rake let his arms pull away from her. Both had a rather stupid grim on there faces, but Rake blushed a bit when he saw Jane's face. Pepper seemed okay with it though.

"Relax Rake; she should be used to it by now. Oh, that reminds me! Jane, Alexander was asking for you."

"Alexander?"

"Yes, Squire Alexander! He was outside in the practice yard last time I checked!" Jane cocked her head at the two of them, but headed outside anyways.

'Okay, something weird is going on! This has to be some kind of a joke. What happened when I hit my head?' She thought franticly to herself as she walked over to the previously mentioned practice yard. But it was not the practice yard she knew. It was larger, and had much more equipment. There were two men in the yard fighting each other with wooden swords. She could tell the one facing her was Gunther, but she could not see the other mans face. He was two young to be Sir Theodore, and to thin to be Sir Ivon.

'That must be Alexander.' As Jane began to approach them Gunther happened to see her.

"Lady Jane, what are you doing here?" Jane stopped in her tracks. 'Did he just call me "Lady Jane?" What is wrong with everyone today?' She was going to yell at him for it but he started to talk again before she could.

"Ah, you must be here to see Alexander. Alex…" He motioned for the man Alexander to go to Jane before bowing to Jane and leaving the arena. Jane had just thought things could not get any stranger when Alexander turned around and walked towards her. This time Jane stopped breathing.

"JESTER!"


	2. Chapter 2

Jane's mouth plummeted to the floor. It was Jester. She was sure of that. Though he looked different. Instead of his usual floppy hat and puzzle piece attire he was sporting a tan shirt with a leather top and thick brown pant. He was sweating from endeavor and was breathing rather heavily. But the smile that had sprung across his face vanished when she called him Jester.

"Jester? Wow, you have not called me that in a while!" He said, his eyebrows raised. He walked closer to her until they were not a few feet apart. Jane starred at him incredulously. Jester/Alexander frowned and asked

"Whats wrong? Are you upset?"

"Well, I am confused! What are you doing?" She demanded.

"I am practicing. A rather normal activity for a Knight-In-Training!" He said jokingly. "What are you wearing?" he added looking her up and down.

Shock swept further through her. She was ready to scream.

"What am I wearing? What are you wearing? What are you doing? What is going on? Is this supposed some kind of a joke?" She yelled almost all at once. The boy in front of her looked bewildered if not also worried. She was going to yell again when she felt his hand rise up to her forehead and sweep a strand of red hair out of her face.

"That's a pretty nasty bump you got there. Are you feeling Ok?" Jane was frozen for a second, looking into his deep grey eyes before pulling away. He had never gotten that close.

"What are you doing?" She asked for the third time.

"You have a mark on your forehead. Looks like you banged into something. Maybe that's why you are acting so…odd." He picked the last word carefully looking thoroughly worried about her.

"I mean what is going on with everyone! What has happened since I left this morning? Why are you training to be a knight? Why is Rake kissing Pepper? Why did Gunther call me 'Lady Jane'? Who exactly are you?" She was almost shaking with confusion, fear, and anger, not sure which emotion was stronger. Jester/Alexander walked closer to her, and touched her hand, then quietly said to her

"Well, I am training to be a Knight because I am a squire. Rake is kissing pepper because they are courting. Gunther called you 'Lady Jane' because that is how you address a Lady-In-Waiting. And I am Alexander. Your best friend since you were 5." Jane stared petrified at him.

"You? A-a squire? Since when?"

"Since I saved Princess Lavinia."

"Lavinia? When did you save her? From what?" Alexander used the back of his hand to feel her forehead.

"You feel a little warm; I think maybe you should go inside and get some rest. I will tell your mother you are not well. I think you may have injured your head when you got that bruise." Jane pushed him away.

"I am not unwell. It is the rest of you that are ill. Maybe crazy! You really want me to believe that you are training to be a knight! You are a Jester!" Alex looked a little hurt by that comment.

"I was a Jester. Then I found a suit of armor and a sword and practiced until I became extremely good. Being a Jester meant I was already very flexible and had a lot of upper-body strength. One day Lavinia was captured by a band of thieves. With the rest of the knights gone off jousting I set out after her and was able to save her. The King made me a squire then. That was when I was 11. I am almost ready to be knighted being 16." Jane felt her head spinning. 'What happened when I crashed into that tree? Jester gave me that armor. Didn't he? But what if he did not…If he never gave me the armor that means that I never trained, I never saved Prince Cuthbert. I never became a squire or meet Dragon. DRAGON!'

"Dragon! Where is Dragon?"

"Dragon? What do you mean Dragon? Jane I really think you should go…"

"And me!" She barked "What of me!"

"What do you mean? You are a Lady-In-Waiting to Princess Lavinia. You also help your mother attend to Her Majesty sometimes." She was now having difficulty breathing. This was insane. He has to be joking! They all are. They must be!'

"Look this is not funny! It is starting to scare me! Just stop!" She tried to stop herself, but she felt her eyes fill with tears. She was scared.

"Oh, Jane! Please do not cry! Oh, I am sorry! Dear Jane, what is wrong!" She heard him call her 'Dear' and looked down at her feet. She took a deep breath to try and recompose herself but it was difficult. Everything felt so wrong. She tried to tell herself she was dreaming, but she did not believe it. She felt an arm wrap around her before she hear another voice call over.

"Alex, Is she Ok?" It was Smithy. She cleared her eyes some-what then turned to see the Blonde Smith caring an armful of metal over to his Smith corner of the practice yard a few yards away. It at least looked that same as it did before. But someone else was with him. It was a young man about Jester/Alexander's age if not a little older. He had dusty brown hair and was a little shorter then Smithy. He was wearing a funny sort of outfit. It was black and red, with moons and stars all over it, complete with a belled hat. Sort of like a Jester costume

"Yes Smith, she is fine." Alexander called over. "Oh, Good Afternoon Tom." Jane could not help but notice that he sounded a bit dry when he greeted the man referred to as Tom. Tom nodded his head a little but did not say anything in return.

"Tom?" Jane asked as she started towards the Black-Smith area. "You're Replacement Jester?" Alex just nodded, now used to Jane asking questions about things she should already know. Jane assumed that he thought she had brain damage. 'Maybe you do…' She pondered as she reached the area when the Sandy Haired Jester was now sitting on a barrel. He looked up when Jane came but did not look at Alex.

"Good Afternoon Lady Jane." Tom said bowing his head a little. He had a thick Irish accent. "What are exactly are you…"

"Wearing? Yes, yes, everyone has already asked that today! Please do not ask!" Tom shrugged, turned his head to Alex for the first time.

"Shouldn't you be practicing or something? Your Lady is safe here. Unless of course you would feel safer if you had some rope to tie her up so she does not stray." Jane was taken aback by this. She turned back to Jester who looked vaguely annoyed. He looked to see that Smithy was not watching or with-in ear shot of them as he was hammering a large piece of metal before saying

"I have not anything to do at the moment. And I recommend you learn to keep your personal comments to yourself!"

"Mmm, surely! As soon as you learn to share!" Tom's eyes darted to Jane for a moment before he looked back at a scroll he was currently writing on. Alexander glared at Tom while Jane was struck with a thought. She was not sure if it delighted her or scared her.

'Am I…In a relationship…with Jester?'

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**Authors Note: Too Cheesy? I don't know! Either way! Yes, this is a few years ahead in time, forgot to mention that the first time. Just two years I think. Also, not sure where Kippernium stood with the Irish right at this point in time, but I was watching Gosford park and liked the valiets accent, and decided it would work for Tom! Another thing to mention! I am going away to Disney for a week so I will not be on for a while. I just really wanted to update something right now. And just for fun, I am ransoming the next chapter for 4 reviews. Yes, I am holding the next chapter hostige! So, you know what to do! Blues Clues! (I look forward to your letters!)**


	3. Chapter 3

Jane's eyes glazed over as her mental clock ticked away. The notion of being with Jester did not disgust her, but it did shock her none the less. Yet, it did not worry her as much as it might have, thanks to circumstances. If Jane was no longer a Squire, then she had not fear of being teased for her feminine emotions, and no worry of being too distracted. He was a very clever and dear friend, but her she wondered if her feelings towards him really reached the point of courtship.

Jane was suddenly pulled away from her thoughts as Smithy began to hit the unknown piece of metal at a furious pace, as if angry at the metal. Jane rolled her eyes at her own foolishness.

'I have not even confirmed that we are together. Perhaps this is just a misunderstanding.' Her gaze drifted back up to Alex as he continued to glare at Tom, his teeth clenched together. Tom remained focused on his scroll, yet he was not completely oblivious to Alex's stares, as a knowing smirk on his face proved.

"Jes…Er, Alex, are you alright?" She said in an attempt claim his attention. The former Jester's head swerved over to Jane, his features softening. His eyes darted back to Tom, but lingered only a moment.

"Yes, just lost in thought." He replied, a grin crossing his face as his pulled Jane away. "Come, let's get away from here." Jane followed him, her brow furrowed. She turned only a moment to see Tom watching them go. Or was her just watching her?

When they had gotten past the castle wall Jane had to stop. Curiosity had begun to gnaw at her, and she now wished for a direct answer.

"Jester," She began, it being more natural to her then anything else. "I, I mean us, That is to say we..." She stuttered feeling lost and confused as many questions built up on the tip of her tongue, struggling to form an actual sentence. Jane finally gave up and asked in desperation,

"Where are we going?" Just so she would at least know something that was happening. Concern washed over Alex as he pulled her closer to him. Her nose now touched his, as his hand pressed softly against her face, his thumb tracing her bottom lip. Her eyes shut against her will as a shiver rippled through her.

"Somewhere happy." He whispered, allowing his nose to nuzzle Jane's slightly. She could only inhale sharply when Jester pulled away.

Jane felt oddly dizzy, and made no objection as Jester began to lead her further and further from the Castle. She was now sure of the idea that she and Jester were courting; yet, she had not the time to think over her own feelings on the matter as Jester stopped abruptly.

Jane's sighed as she saw where Alex had taken her. Before her was a vast square of land, covered in dense green grass, and flooded with warm golden sunshine. Yet, the beauty was not what stole her breath, but what Jester held out to her. It was a sword.

Jane looked from him to the sword in astonishment. It was a real sword. Blunt, to be sure, but it was beautiful all the same. The hilt was long and elegant, fashioned with a lone red gem, and the handle shone of silver. Jane slowly took the sword into her own hands still admiring it.

"Do you like it?" He asked quietly. Jane could not tear her eyes away from it.

"I love it." She murmured, almost to the sword.

"Pleased to here it." He said, raising a sword of his own, and pointing it towards Jane. "Now let's see if you can use it." Jane looked shocked, but quickly registered what Jester was doing. He was teaching her. Though things were different, her dream was most likely still the same. Jane smiled and raised her sword to match his, before beginning the duel.****

**_A/N: Yes, Slightly boring, but were getting there. Interestingness (Is that a word?) is on the way. But For Now, You can reveiw!_**


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